Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, said Tuesday that he plans to vote against a government spending measure if it provides funding for President Obama’s plan to grant temporary legal status for more than 4 million illegal immigrants in the country.

“I won’t vote for the spending bill if it includes money for the executive amnesty,” he told radio host Laura Ingraham.

Some conservatives, such as GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rep. Steve King of Iowa in the House, have called on Republicans to use the power of the purse to curb Mr. Obama’s ability to carry out the recently-announced actions on immigration.

Other GOP leaders are trying to coalesce around a plan that would fund most of the federal government through next fall and Homeland Security for a few months, when a new Republican majority in the U.S. Senate could revisit the issue.

Mr. Paul, a possible 2016 presidential contender, also criticized the short time frame surrounding consideration of the measure to fund the government past Thursday, calling for passage of individual appropriations bills in the future and also saying that “every facet of government from top to bottom” should be reformed through the spending process.